The hardware-led business is unsustainable in its present form. Simple as that.

The problem is the hardware sale is a rare one-off. Take myself as an example. I've average 8 to 10 years from every Roland 'board I've bought over the last twenty-odd years. Few are kissing �2000 goodbye every year for a new TOTL arranger with nothing meaningfully new to offer. Sure, there are a few suckers who've upgraded T1, T2, T3, but even they must acknowledge the law of diminishing returns has kicked in. All the manufacturers have reached a plateau of functionality it's hard to see moving beyond.

In such a stagnant market, the up-sell becomes more important, generating revenue from the existing user base. Diki has floated the idea on the Roland Arranger forums of manufacturers shifting focus, and offering an iTunes-style model of new styles/voices/features being offered via an online store. Why it hasn't happened before now has me scratching my head. It's so obvious and, frankly, there's no other way I can see in the present climate of generating sustainable revenues.